Devices according to the invention serve at least two useful purposes when included in series in the ignition wiring of electrically operated internal combustion engines. They improve engine performance and they serve to suppress radio interference. Nothing similar to the invention is known in the art of engine performance control except that it appears that the use of ignition circuit conductors of powdered carbon, ordinarily used as an aid to suppressing radio interference in automobiles, may have an effect on engine performance. The invention employs an element in the form of compacted and compressed granules of metal mixed with silica grains.
While the principle of operation of the invention is unknown, a number of theories have been advanced, including the proposal that positive ions migrate from the impedance element through the electrical system and spark plug, there to participate either as active elements or as catalytic agents in the combustion reaction or both. It is proposed that silica ions provide a catalytic action and that the metallic ions participate in formation of new materials in an exothermic reaction of some kind. The contention that carbon conductors in radio interference suppression ignition wires affect engine performance, and the observation that the invention acts to suppress radio interference have prompted speculation that improved performance of the engine is accounted for by attenuation of high frequency components in the waveshape of ignition current pulses.